The American Civil War And The Formation Of The Dominion Of Canada

The American Civil War of 1861-1865 was a regional war that took place between the Northern states and the Southern states of the United States.This war not only reborn the United States of America,but also directly contributed to the formation of the Dominion of Canada.This article is designed to narrate the influence of the American Civil War on the formation of the Dominion of Canada on the basis of collecting historical data extensively.The main part of this article is mainly divided into six parts.The first part mainly deals with the relationship between the United States and the British North America before the American Civil War.Before the American Civil War,the United States and the British North America were neighbors who had bad relations and had several wars and conflicts in their history.The wars and conflicts with the United States,on the one hand,led the British North America to embark on a different development path from the United States,on the other hand,made the British North America maintain a high degree of vigilance against its southern neighbors.The second part mainly describes the attitudes of the United Kingdom and the British North America to the American Civil War.After the outbreak of the American Civil War,the UK government issued a neutral declaration,but it was not truly neutral in this war,and even the neutral declaration itself was a kind of support for the South.Although the colonies of British North America had different attitudes towards the North and the South of the United States at the beginning,with the development of the war,more and more people tended to support the South.The sympathy and the support of the British North America and its sovereign country,the United Kingdom,would certainly make the British North America deeply influenced by the American Civil War.The third part mainly describes the deterioration of relations between the United States and the British North America during the period of the American Civil War.Along with the proceeding of the Civil War,the US-UK relations had been continually deteriorating,which had finally led to a major diplomatic crisis such as the Trent Affair.It almost led to war between the United States and British North America.With the war aims of the South frustrated in 1863,the South intended to establish a "second front" against the North in the British North America,Southern agents launched a series of attacks to the North based on the British North America,which increased the risk of British North America being attacked by the United States.The tensions between the United States and British North America,on the one hand,provoked a sense of crisis in the British North American Colonies,prompting the colonies to strengthen their cooperation in order to protect themselves,and on the other hand,made the United Kingdom gradually adjust its policy towards the British North America.The fourth part mainly describes the "great coalition" of the Canadian Province.By 1863 and 1864,Canada was in a very difficult situation.Not only did it have to face its own serious political crisis,but also had to withstand the unprecedentedly pressures of national defense,economic and territory which were from the United States.Facing such internal and external difficulties,Canada's two opposing political parties finally gave up their suspicions and jointly formed a bipartisan coalition government and reached an agreement on the establishment of a federation.The fifth part is about the change of Britain's attitude towards the Federal Movement of Canada.In the 1850 s,the Canadian Provincial Government proposed to the United Kingdom to establish a British North American federal,but the UK government was not interested in it.The American Civil War and the Unification Movement of Germany which happened in the 1860 s forced the United Kingdom to adjust its North American policy.In order to maintain its influence in the American continent,the UK government turned to support the Federal Movement of the British North America.The sixth part mainly describes the formation of the Dominion of Canada.The establishment of the Dominion of Canada was achieved through holding a series of meetings to negotiate the federation question and approving the resolutions which had passed in these meetings.With the successful holding of the Charlottetown Conference,the Quebec Conference and the London Conference,and the resolutions approved by the Britain and the colonies,a new North American nation was finally established after the American Civil War.However,the Dominion of Canada established in 1867 was only an improvised country.In the early years of the country,it faced strong domestic and foreign pressures.In this case,the choice of its founding policy had a direct bearing on the country's survival.The "national policy" which implemented by the Canadian Prime Minister MacDonald aimed for fully integrating and developing this new country had successfully defended Canada's national independence,strengthen regional ties,and cultivated a unified national consciousness.Although the "national policy" was first proposed by Macdonald in 1872 and implemented fully in 1878 when MacDonald re-elected as the Canadian Prime Minister,the basis of these policies had been established in the American Civil War.The conclusion is a summary and reflection of this history.Population,territory,power,and sovereignty were the four basic components of a sovereign country.The influence of the American Civil War on the formation of the Dominion of Canada was also reflected in these four aspects: It promoted the federal process of British North America.With the establishment of the Canadian Federal Government,the fragmentation situation of the British North America was changed;promoted the increase of population and the reasonable distribution of population;Initially established the basic territory of the Dominion of Canada;made the Dominion of Canada obtain all the national sovereignty except the diplomatic right from the Britain.To some extent,it was precisely because of the American Civil War which took place in the 1860 s that the Dominion of Canada could come into being in 1867.However,when the Dominion of Canada was established on the basis of British colonies in North America,China,which was separated from the British North America by the Pacific Ocean,was gradually becoming a semi-colony from an independent country.Why did this happen? Explained by the British historian Toynbee's theory,it was whether making a successful response to the challenge.